Nebraska Game & Parks (NGP)
In The News
Nebraska Examiner: Changes in federal broadband programs upset advocates for rural Nebraska
County officials and advocates for rural development cried foul over recent changes in a federal initiative to expand access to high-speed internet, saying they will force thousands in rural Nebraska to settle for second-rate broadband.
Oliver Borchers-Williams of the Lincoln-based Southeast Nebraska Development District said the changes promise to set up a “two-tiered system,” where state-of-the-art fiber is easily available in urban areas, but in some rural areas, only less-reliable wireless and satellite service is available.
“It’s technology that wouldn’t cut it in a city, but we’re saying it’s good enough for rural areas,” said Borchers-Williams, who saw hundreds of locations in his 16-county area deemed ineligible.
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News Channel Nebraska: SENDD warns federal changes will mean less broadband access and implementation across Nebraska
Statewide organizations that work to increase internet access throughout the state are warning that recent federal revisions will now inhibit Nebraska’s ability to expand broadband and fiber internet services, especially in rural areas.
Visiting with the Jefferson County Commissioners this month, representatives from the Southeast Nebraska Development District (SENDD) painted a dire picture of the future of fiber internet in Nebraska, displaying maps that show more than half of the locations across the state that had been identified as eligible for high-speed broadband infrastructure aren’t eligible anymore.
“We should use every technology, every tool at our disposal to connect all the locations that we can, but we also have to recognize that it’s not apples to apples,” Borchers-Williams said. “Fiber is the best option in terms of scalability, it can really easily meet these future needs. Wireless will have its place, but really what are lot of people are concerned that the BEAD program is going to do is funnel billions to some of these satellite companies and just declare ‘mission accomplished.’ But we’re on the ground, we know that’s not going to be true.”
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Fairbury Journal-News: Commissioners Disappointed Over Broadband Expansion Policy Changes
Broadband internet access has become an economic necessity and providing that access to those rural areas that might go unserved or underserved has been a priority of Jefferson County Commissioners for several years. A major policy shift at the federal level has put commissioners’ goal of providing broadband service to all of Jefferson County at risk.
Oliver Borchers-Williams, Director of Broadband Development for SENDD (Southeast Nebraska Development District), gave commissioners the news at a meeting Tuesday morning, July 8. The new policy no longer focuses on fiber as the preferred delivery system for broadband internet service.
Jefferson County’s BEAD-eligible total reduced from 226 to 130, or about 42 percent. Statewide, the reduction exceeded 15,000, or 52 percent.
According to Borchers-Williams, some of this can be attributed to new deployment, “but most of the newly-ineligible locations are now considered ‘served’ because of the Policy Notice’s goalpost-moving. There will be no challenge process for members of the public to rebut claimed coverage at their locations.”
Speed Testing
History and Successes
The District aims to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas, and broadband is the key that links our communities together. As unserved and underserved areas were labeled through this project, stakeholders and economic developers began planning for the potential expansion of broadband infrastructure that supported businesses and residents both now and in the future.
SENDD also contracted with the Lead for America program to hire two AmeriCorps Broadband Fellows. The Fellows helped create Broadband Action Teams (BATS) across the region. BATS are essential to broadband planning and deployment, including steps for digital inclusion and best practices for reaching marginalized populations. SENDD’s Broadband Fellows also worked with Gage County leaders to craft a sample Request for Proposals (RFP) utilized by county officials as they bid out American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funded broadband infrastructure projects. Gage County leaders were the first in the state to use this document and were subsequently featured in the Benton Institute newsletter and included in a Mountain Connect (Keystone, CO) event.
These efforts were recognized in March 2023, when SENDD was awarded a $500,000 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant (ACP). The District was the only Nebraska organization to receive the FCC funds. Partnering with NROC, the development districts contributed to enrolling nearly 100,000 Nebraska households in the ACP program.
In early 2024, SENDD received notification that the District received a USDA Broadband Technical Assistance grant. The Nebraska Regional Broadband Technical Assistance Initiative will be aimed at equipping communities with the knowledge and tools they need to be considered broadband-ready communities and to create incentives for ISPs to invest and build in the area.
SENDD’s broadband work has been recognized with two National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Awards.
